Chapter 9

AN: Thanks for reviewing, folks. I know, that was a tough ending, but remember... I am a happy ending girl! I will have to answer reviews after; having some issues with the site, but I wanted to get this out there...

Penelope took an extra second to compose herself. She gambled and lost. She felt like the biggest fool on the planet. Now she knew the awful truth and could be done with dreaming about something with him. He was still her friend; she was a good friend, after all. He didn't deserve to lose his best friend, regardless of how her stupid heart felt. She needed to make this better.

She opened her eyes as quickly as she could, smiled and laughed. "Oh, goodness; temporary insanity there! Don't know what got into-"

"Wait a damn minute, woman," he said, stopping her from talking. "I have every intention of kissing the hell out of you.....again."

She turned pale. Again? He remembered?

She gasped as his arms went around her and pulled her close. She couldn't speak; her heart was going to explode, she knew it.

"I only want your eyes to be open, so you know exactly who you are kissing." He lowered his mouth close to hers; she could feel his warm breath against her lips as he said, "After all, Baby Girl; haven't we been blind long enough?"

He leaned forward just the slightest bit, giving her the touch of his lips against hers. Gently at first, light soft kisses, like he was exploring her lips. She was shivering, and goose bumps were scattered all over her arms, her neck, everywhere, from that tiny touch. His lips were firm, warm, and tasted a little like the coffee he'd drunk.

He lifted his head, then looked down at her. She didn't know what he was looking for; all she knew was her whole body was tingling with anticipation. He smiled at her, the sexiest little smile she'd ever seen, then lowered his head and really started to kiss her.

And with that, the fireworks began.

Derek brought his hands up to cup her face and brought his lips to hers. The kiss deepened immeasurably; he concentrated fully on her mouth and completely consumed her, his tongue delving inside to stroke hers intimately. He kissed her like he meant it, branding her as his and making all other kisses obsolete.

It was absolutely heady, beyond decadent, the coursing of emotion running through her. The tips of her breasts tightened, she learned how to breathe in tandem with him, and she could feel herself getting hotter, throbbing, just from his kiss. She wished he had done this years ago; she would've joined his harem for his kisses!

She heard a noise, a low, keening sound, and realized that it came from herself shortly thereafter. She didn't know she could sound like that; no other man had ever drawn that sound out of her. But she didn't have time to be embarrassed, didn't have time to think, all she could do was feel.

One of his hands left the tangle of her hair, caressing down her neck, her shoulder, around to the small of her back. He pressed her against him, guiding her deeper into his embrace as his mouth continued to work magic.

She brought her hand against the side of his neck, feeling the strong and steady beat of his pulse beneath her palm. His skin was mostly smooth and warm, with just the beginnings of the roughness of stubble. Her hand continued to explore, moving up to the back of his head to press him closer.

He leaned over her a little, the heavenly weight of his chest pressing her back into the cushions. She placed her arms around his shoulders, feeling the flexing of his muscles. His mouth continued to play with hers as she felt his hand move from behind her to her ribcage, stroking slowly, his fingertips splaying gently against her side.

A moan slipped through her lips again, the slow tingles and giddy warmth smoldering into a burning need. She'd never ached like this before in her life! She felt so weak and yet restless. His hand below her breast scorched her skin and felt feverishly hot. She arched against him, begging him for more.

A moment later, he slid his hand up the last crucial inches and cupped her breast. He circled his palm over the tip, causing her nipple to tighten and bead. She gasped against his mouth, breaking away with a shudder. It was almost too much sensation, what he was doing to her.

She was panting, and she felt his ragged breaths against her mouth, too. Slowly, her eyes fluttered opened. He was watching her intently, lacking his usual grin. His eyes were dark, nearly onyx in color. A grin spread across her face; it felt so very good to know she wasn't the only one affected by their kiss.

He also looked like he was warring with something in his mind, like he planned on doing something else, and had to fight himself not to. She fiercely wondered what that was. Obviously, his thinking won, because the expression he had was gone, and he was back to smiling gently at her. He leaned back to give her some distance, then shook his head, and leaned very close to her again.

"Yes, Baby Girl," he murmured, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek. His thumb stroked along her lower lip and his eyes heated. "A whole hell of a lot of chemistry."

"Fireworks too?" she teased. She knew the answer to that.

His knowing half grin made her blush.

"Wrong question, Angel. What we should be asking is this," he said. He looked at her, all the teasing gone. "Now that we proved it's there, what are we going to do about it?"